Crime & Safety
Chicago Woman Wounded In Mass Shooting At Her 25th Birthday Party Is Going To Hospice Care
"How loving and kind she was, how giving, how selfless she was for anyone and anything," said Vera's aunt, Rebecca Dejesus.
August 18, 2025
After being critically wounded in a mass shooting in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood that killed her father and two others, Mariah Vera's body has held on for two and a half years.
Find out what's happening in Chicagofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
But her family says that time is running out, and they need help from the public. Vera's family is preparing to move her to hospice care at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, and they are facing another hurdle — final medical and funeral costs.
Vera's loved ones say she held on this long to give them time to learn to let go — a final kindness from a woman whose life was defined by love.
